Respondent Conditioning

Ch 21

Conditioning

• Operant conditioning or instrumental conditioning

• Pavlovian or respondent conditioning

B.F. Skinner

Ivan Pavlov

Does respondent conditioning play a role in magazine training?

• Remember operant level

• What did rat do when pellet dropped?

Terms

• Unconditioned stimulus (UCS or US)

• Unconditioned response (UCR or UR)

• Conditioned stimulus (CS)

• Conditioned response (CR)

US

• A stimulus that produces the unconditioned response without previous pairing with another stimulus

UR

• An unlearned response elicited by the presentation of an US.

CS

• A stimulus that acquires its eliciting properties through previous pairing with another stimulus.

CR

• A learned response elicited by the presentation of a conditioned stimulus.

Unconditioned Stimulus

UCS(food pellet)

An UCS elicits behavior without any learning history with regard to that stimulus.

Unconditioned Response

UCR(salivation)

An UCR is a reflex response elicited by an UCS. The food pellet elicits salivation.

UCS(food pellet)

Respondent Conditioning

UCR(salivation)

Following repeated pairings of the UCS and a neutral stimulus...

UCS(food pellet)

neutral stimulus (click of pellet

dispenser)

pairing

Respondent Conditioning

CR(salivation)

…the neutral stimulus, when presented alone, elicits the CR. The neutral stimulus is now a CS (no longer neutral) because of the conditioning history.

CS(click of pellet

dispenser)

Respondent Conditioning

• No aspect of the procedure depends on the organism’s behavior. Rat did not have to “do” anything.

• Procedure consists of presentation of stimuli– Presented according to a prearranged temporal

plan

• No response contingency (dependency)

Respondent Conditioning

?(salivation)

Following repeated pairings of the UCS and a ______ stimulus...

UCS(food pellet)

? stimulus (click of pellet

dispenser)

pairing

Respondent Conditioning

?(salivation)

…the neutral stimulus, when presented alone, elicits the ___. The neutral stimulus is now a ___ (no longer neutral) because of the conditioning history.

?(click of pellet

dispenser)

Respondent Conditioning

CR(salivation)

…the neutral stimulus, when presented alone, elicits the CR. The neutral stimulus is now a CS (no longer neutral) because of the conditioning history.

CS(click of pellet

dispenser)

Operant Conditioning

Behavior (Response) SR+

Peck disk Grain hopper access

Operant Conditioning

Behavior (Response) SR+

Peck disk Grain hopper access

ESSENTIAL that the reinforcer presentation depends on the organism’s response.

In operant conditioning, it is the occurrence of a response that causes reinforcement to be

delivered.(Reinforcement is contingent

upon the response)

In respondent conditioning, the conditioned and unconditioned stimuli are presented without

regard to the animal’s behavior.(no contingency)

In operant conditioning, must detect response in order to know when to deliver reinforcement

In respondent conditioning, must detect response to know whether

conditioning is taking place

Essential features of each procedure?

Special exercise helps highlight essential features:

-operantly condition vasoconstriction-respondently condition the lever press

Operantly condition peripheral vasoconstriction

• Efforts to operantly condition smooth muscle systems have not been very successful

• Procedure can be applied to any response system

Respondently condition the lever press

• No lever-pressing reflex in the rat’s lever pressing repertoire…

• No reinforcement for lever pressing

Respondent vs. Operant Conditioning

Feature Respondent conditioning

Operant conditioning

Procedure Stimuli precede response

Consequences follow response

Response occurrence

Non response necessary

Response is necessary

Parts of organism involved

Glands & smooth muscles

Striped muscles

Response control Involuntary Voluntary

Phobias?

• Long lasting, intense, irrational fear.

• Fear is produced by previously neutral stimuli.

What is fear?

• “Fears” darkness: Darkness is

– a learned aversive stimulus and

– a conditioned eliciting stimulus

• Responses – physiological and emotional – are conditioned responses to the eliciting stimulus.

Watson & Rayner

UCR(fear response)

Following repeated pairings of the UCS and a neutral stimulus...

UCS(Striking iron bar)

neutral stimulus (White rat)

pairing

Watson & Rayner

CR(fear response)

…the neutral stimulus, when presented alone, elicits the CR. The neutral stimulus is now a CS (no longer neutral) because of the conditioning history.

CS(White rat)

Higher Order Conditioning

• Establishing a conditioned stimulus by pairing a neutral stimulus with an already established conditioned stimulus.

Watson & Rayner

CR(fear response)

Following repeated pairings of the CS and a neutral stimulus...

CS(white rat)

neutral stimulus (Santa’s beard)

pairing

Watson & Rayner

CR(fear response)

…the neutral stimulus, when presented alone, elicits the CR. The neutral stimulus is now a CS (no longer neutral) because of the conditioning history.

CS(White rat)

CS(Santa’s beard)

Respondent Extinction

• Present the conditioned stimulus without pairing it with the unconditioned stimulus or with an already established conditioned stimulus, and the conditioned stimulus will lose its eliciting power.

Operant treatment of phobias

• Differential reinforcement

• Reinforced practice – reinforce approaching aversive and fear-evoking stimuli

• Also involves respondent extinction (repeated presentations of the CS without the UCS)

Systematic Desensitization

• Combining relaxation with a hierarchy of fear-producing stimuli arranged from the least to the most frightening– Can be in vivo or with imagination

Systematic Desensitization

• Develop hierarchy of fears

• Complete relaxation training

• Begin systematic desensitization

Hierarchy of Fears1. Thinking about basement2. On basement stairs3. Standing in basement4. Notice spider webs in basement5. See a dead spider 5 ft away6. See a live spider 5 ft away7. Etc8. Etc9. Ect10. Ect11. Ect12. Ect13. Spider crawling on hand

Relaxation Training

• Tense, then relax muscle groups

• Imagery – warm sun, calm ocean

• Practice

After mastery of relaxation…

• After training, begin Systematic Desensitization

• Raise finger during presentation of items from hierarchy if tension occurs and lower finger when there is a return to a relaxed state

• Repeat until relaxation is maintained throughout hierarchy